School Communities

Schools are the central hub of any active community — build them, and the families will come. We partner with state agencies and developers to ensure that, as a community progresses, evaluations are in place to determine if a School Impact District must be established, and related fees are collected to ensure (1) schools are expanded to meet the community’s need, and/or (2) new schools are built.

​​​​​Process and history

The Hawaii State Legislature via Act 245 authorized the Board of Education to approve School Impact Districts, in which impact fees may be collected. These districts must be areas of high growth that will require new schools, or the expansion of existing schools, to accommodate the increase in new families and school enrollments. Commercial projects, industrial projects, senior housing projects, replacement homes or projects to enlarge existing homes are exempt.
Since the enactment of the law, the Board has approved four School Impact Districts:

Leeward Oahu

West Hawaii

West Maui

Central Maui

Fees collected from this program are kept in an account maintained by the Office of School Facilities and Support Services (OSFSS). A quarterly report of those fees is attached (Related Downloads, right).

Also included in this report are Fair Share contributions by developers. The history of private donations for public school facilities in Hawaii goes back to the 1831 donation of land by the Kingdom of Hawaii to the Department’s oldest school: Lahainaluna High School. School land and buildings were often provided by agricultural plantations for their worker communities. After Statehood, when developers sought to get urban classifications from the state and county governments, the land-approving agencies imposed school fair-share conditions. Developers were required to meet with the Department and agree to provide land and/or funding to offset the student enrollment impacts of their residential development. The Department is still collecting land and cash through this process.

Anyone with questions about this process is encouraged to contact the Facilities Development Branch of OSFSS: 808-784-5080, or email Heidi_Meeker@hawaiidoe.org.

School Impact Districts

LEEWARD OAHU
Beginning Sept. 1, 2013, home builders and residential developers in the areas of Aiea, Pearl City, Waipahu, Ewa and Kapolei will be assessed a School Impact Fee when applying for a building permit for any new residential construction. Applicants will be directed to submit payment to the Department prior to issuance of a building permit.

Fee amounts are set at $4,334 per unit for multi-family units and $5,504 for single family units. Developers for residential projects of 50 units or more will be required to meet with the Department to determine if fees will take the form of a land contribution for future school sites, cash, or a combination of both. Developers must meet with the Department before projects are subdivided or receive change in zoning approval. Key forms: